Heaven's Gate
by PurgatoryKabuki
Summary: An unknown girl who doesn't understand certain things she's been seeing for almost two years since she arrived in Karakura Town. Is she crazy? Or will she finally manage to find her purpose? This is Touari Ueda's story. (Touari Ueda is my OC, this story is set during the last few months of the 17 month time-skip and will work its way forwards.) Please R&R!
1. Chapter 1

A/N: This is my second story. A story about my OC - Touari Ueda. I normally don't condone OC's but this girl has been in my head and I intend to make her an awesome OC and not cheesy. Please R&R and enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 1**

* * *

Stood before her were two people; people she didn't know, but were somehow familiar. A tall man with vibrant emerald green eyes, and dark brown hair. A woman with fair beauty and icy blue eyes, her long white hair softly whirling around her slender frame in the wind. She didn't know where she was, but she felt oddly at home, and in a familiar place. Yet she felt uneasy. All she knew beyond the people before her was the feeling of wind and the strong smell of earth. The man seemed to be speaking, but she heard nothing, and she couldn't even read his lips. The longer he went on, the more upset and impatient he became. Beside him, the fair woman's eyes grew sad, and had placed a hand upon his shoulder. An attempt at calming him.

Suddenly their bodies shivered and morphed into two dragons. One a soft blue, the other a moss green. Their long snakelike bodies twining around each other, seemingly endless. Their faces close to her, eyes piercing her very being. Willing her to understand. She didn't understand, however. She couldn't. She just kept staring dumbly into the two pairs of eyes that have been haunting her for the past year and a half.

She woke up breathing heavily, her heart pounding. The cold breeze that came in from her open window making her shiver. She looked at the digital clock on her desk and groaned. It was 3:24 in the morning. She sat up and closed the window before laying back down and curling up on her bed. She never understood that reoccurring dream. She sighed and closed her eyes only to see those eyes staring back at her. She wouldn't be falling back asleep, at least not for a while.

By the time she woke up again, the sun was shining happily in the sky, a bright Wednesday morning. She blinked until her eyes adjusted and stretched, but she still felt tired. Looking at the clock, she realized that she would be late for school. Her alarm must have not went off. Quickly, she slipped out of bed, went and took care of whatever she needed to in the bathroom, and then got dressed in her school uniform. As she walked down the stairs, carrying her school bag, she found the house was already empty, short of herself. After grabbing a banana from the kitchen for breakfast, and her bento out of the refrigerator for lunch, she walked over to the front door. She read the note that was on the small table in the hallway that lead to the front door.

_Touari, _

_I'll be home late again tonight. I'm sorry. _

_Please make sure you get something to eat._

_-Dad_

Of course her father wouldn't be home until late. Ever since her mother left them out of nowhere when she was thirteen, around four years ago, she saw her father less and less. More often than not, she felt she lived alone. After they moved to Karakura Town two years ago, she had hoped her father would stop sulking and burying himself in work, but her hope died quickly. She balled up the note, tossed it back onto the table, and left the house.

By the time she was at Karakura High, she was definitely late. She didn't like being late, as it was top on the list of things she hated, second being loose fitting clothes. She always made sure to be on time, or even early. It was the best way not to draw attention to herself. She didn't know how to handle attention. She didn't have any friends, or enemies, and she never broke any rules or turned in homework late. She was a nobody, and she liked it that way since that is what she was used to since her family fell apart.

She stood in front of the classroom door, her stomach doing nervous back flips. Briefly she thought about escaping and just going back home or to the dojo, but then she shook her head and pushed her nervousness aside. She modestly slid the door open, trying not to draw too much attention, but to her chagrin the teacher immediately threw the chalkboard eraser in her direction, which slammed loudly against the door, and called out her name.

"Ueda Touari! Glad you could grace us with your presence. Please take your seat and don't make a habit of being late. This is unbecoming of one of my top students."

After clumsily closing the door and placing the eraser back on the ledge at the bottom of the chalkboard, sort of as a peace offering, she bowed low. "I'm sorry, Ochi-sensei. I will not be late again." Then Touari quickly made her way down the aisle left of the middle row of desks, and sat in her assigned seat which was to the left of Ishida and behind Kurosaki. She buried her face in what she hoped was the correct book, her cheeks burning with embarrassment, trying to not think of all the eyes staring at her.

As class resumed and the attention on her diminished, she relaxed into her seat and gave a thankful sigh. Touari then became aware of the almost tangible depression rolling off the guy in front of her. Kurosaki Ichigo was strange and possibly bipolar. Touari didn't know what to make of him, since every few months he seems to flip and change personalities. Lately he was his grumpy, brooding self. The past few months she felt nothing but depression coming from him as she sat behind him. It made her school life suck just a little more than usual. He had mostly stopped talking to his, for the lack of a better term, gang of weirdos, and was always staring at this wood thing with a skull on it. Strange guy, indeed. Though she was thankful he had stopped running out of the classroom at random times.

To her right, Ishida Uryu kept glancing at her. Touari never liked it when he looked at her like that. It was as if he could see right into her, like he knew all of her secrets, desires, and fears. It would have bothered her more if she hadn't been crushing on him for the past year. Though she knew it would never happen, she didn't really exist to most people, and she always thought that he and Kurosaki were together, given the way Ishida practically guards and protects him from any punks that try to mess with him. She would never admit it, but Touari was glad that Ishida noticed her. It was sometimes comforting, at least when he wasn't staring at her, even though they never spoke to each other.

In an attempt at ignoring the sapphire eyes that were on her, she nonchalantly angled herself so she was facing more towards the windows, making as if she was daydreaming. She wasn't, really. Touari's eyes landed on the girl she knew as Inoue Orihime, of course everyone knew who she was. She was the most sought after girl in school. Though the boys, and a few girls, who did want to be with her were stupid not to see that it would never happen. Touari knew that Inoue was in love with the strange guy, Kurosaki Ichigo. Touari really didn't understand that one. She often caught Inoue gazing at Kurosaki with longing. Today, however, she was gazing at him with a mixture of longing and worry, her brow knit together in a frown. Peculiar.

Touari's eyes then traveled to the empty desk that was a few seats behind Inoue. Seems Sado Yasutora didn't show up today, again. Perhaps that big guy was sick. Turning her attention back to the teacher, she began to take notes on whatever Ochi covered.

* * *

It was lunch time, so Touari pulled out her bento from her bag and began to make her way to the roof of the school building as it was a nice day. She found herself alone as she began to eat, but that didn't last long. She heard the door open and a handful of students, the gang of weirdos, showed themselves. Ishida, Inoue, Kurosaki, Arisawa, Asano, and Kojima found a place to sit and eat.

Touari casually watched them from the corner of her eye. Kurosaki seemed antisocial, even as Arisawa and Asano were trying to cheer him up with their usual antics. Kojima was texting, no doubt some older woman, on his cell phone like always. Ishida was glancing at her again, talking lowly to Inoue, who also looked in her direction briefly. They seemed to be having a private conversation. What were they up to? She tried reading their lips and caught a strange word. Reiatsu? What is that?

Touari decided to look away and focus on eating her lunch, but she was no longer hungry as she felt those eyes staring at her. Setting her half eaten bento in her lap she looked up at the clouds in the sky, then closed her eyes as she felt the breeze pass by her. Then she saw those two pairs of eyes from her dream again, and jumped, her eyes flying open. Just so happened to be the same moment when she heard a male voice say her name.

"Ueda-san."

Touari looked over at Ishida who was now standing near her with Inoue at his side.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. Inoue-san and I were wondering if you would mind company," said Ishida, his sapphire eyes locking onto her hazel ones.

Touari noticed the uncharacteristic smile gracing Ishida's handsome features. She immediately blushed crimson, shaking her head in reply. She finally tore her eyes away from his and focused on the bento in her lap. They both sat in front of her, Inoue nibbling on melon bread and Ishida drinking tea out of a bottle. There was an awkward silence for a moment.

"How come you're always alone, Ueda-san?"

Touari looked up at Ishida, a frown set upon her lips. "I prefer it that way." She watched as understanding flitted across his features for the barest of moments. Her eyes then caught the concern on Inoue's face.

Inoue reached over and grabbed one of Touari's hands. "It's not safe for someone like you, us, to be alone. Would it be alright if we became friends, Ueda-san?"

Touari couldn't take the concern that was all too plainly written on her face, and so she pulled her hand out of Inoue's grasp. It was too much, and she didn't understand what Inoue meant. It's not safe for someone like her to be alone? "Excuse me, but what do you mean, Inoue-san?"

"She means that people with higher than normal reiatsu are in danger of hollow attacks."

There it was again, that word. Her brow knitted in confusion. "I'm sorry, what?"

"You see them, don't you? Big, ugly, masked creatures that feed on souls," said Ishida, his eyes studying her intently.

If she was to be honest, Touari had definitely seen creatures of that description before. Sometimes she heard unearthly howling as well. Though she had never been attacked by one. She saw ghosts too, which would creep her out just as much as these hollow things they were talking about. At first it was more like she sensed other beings, then she could make out hazy outlines, and eventually she saw them as clear as she saw Ishida and Inoue right now.

"Ah, so you have, Ueda-san."

Touari stared dumbly at Ishida. How did he know if she had or not? She didn't say anything. The tone played around the school, signaling lunch was over and that it was time to return to their classes. Everyone that was on the roof stood up and made to return back to class. Touari caught the curious glances from everyone but Kojima as they left. Ishida and Inoue still stood before her.

Inoue gave her a piece of paper with two sets of numbers and corresponding names. "Here, those are our cell phone numbers. Please let us help keep you safe, Ueda-san."

Touari stared at the piece of paper for a moment before tucking it into her sweater pocket. "I'm pretty sure I'm capable of protecting myself. I've never been attacked before and I probably never will. We should head back to class. Thank you for your concern. Excuse me," she said, pushing passed them and making her way to the door.

"Ueda-san, don't be afraid to ask us for help. You can count on us," said Ishida, just before Touari disappeared into the school.

* * *

Touari was laying in her bed, unable to sleep. She felt anxious and whenever she tried to sleep, she saw those two pairs of eyes again. Looking at the clock, she noticed that it was late. 11:43 pm. Touari sighed, and got up. She would go for a run, perhaps it would calm her or at least make her tired enough to sleep. So she changed into her running clothes, which consisted of tight black cloth pants, a matching tank, and a blue jacket. She went down stairs and put on her running shoes before leaving and heading towards a nearby park. Touari had left her cell phone and everything else behind. She wouldn't need it.

By the time she got to the park, she had built up her heart rate enough to transition into jogging, so she did. The cool air felt good, and she lost herself in just focusing on her breathing as her pace became faster. It had been several minutes before she heard something that made her stop in her tracks instantly. A loud, unearthly howl sounded and it was close, too close. She knew what it was and panic began to set in. Touari hoped at that moment that it wouldn't be coming for her, that Ishida and Inoue were wrong today.

Touari immediately turned and ran in the opposite direction of the howl. She only made it so far before something barreled into her from behind and knocked her down to the ground, effectively knocking the wind out of her. The hollow flipped her over roughly and pinned her body to the ground with a massive, clawed hand.

"Mmm," it cooed, flicking it's large tongue out. "You look tasty, but I wish to have more fun with you before I consume your soul."

The hollow raked her torso with its claws as it flung her ruthlessly against a tree. Touari had hit the tree at an odd angle and she heard a sickeningly loud series of cracks. Probably because the ribs on her right side were all broken, and shattered now. Then she was rolling down a slight hill, the sound of metal clinking together filling her ears.

The hollow hovered over her crumpled form, overly happy as it watched her struggle to breathe and stay alive. "Your soul popped out of your body already? You're very weak for one with such reiatsu. No matter, it's time to eat you. Hopefully you taste as good as those pitiful shinigami."

Touari's eyes lulled around in her head, trying to grasp the situation. She remembered intense pain, but all she felt was sluggish, and breathing was hard. No pain. Perhaps she was in shock or something. Whatever it was, she was grateful for the reprieve. The hollow had said something about her soul coming out of her body, and she briefly wondered what that meant before her eyes locked on the skeletal jaws that were open wide and descending towards her.

_I don't want to die. I don't want to die. I don't want to die. Not yet. Please, stop!_

In her peripheral vision she saw a blue light speeding towards the hollow that was a hairsbreadth from consuming her. There was a loud screeching sound before the hollow dissolved and disappeared. Relief washed over her as she stared blankly at the now empty space above her, tears falling down the sides of her face.

"Ueda-san!"

That voice sounded familiar but she couldn't place it at the moment. Suddenly blue eyes were there, in front of her. She knew this person.

"Ueda-san, stay with me. I don't think it would be wise for me to put you back into your body just yet. I already made some phone calls. Help is on the way."

Her body? Touari began to look around, her eyes caught the chain in the grass next to her and started to follow it. She was stopped by a gentle hand turning her head to look back into those blue eyes.

"Don't look, Ueda-san. It's bad. Thankfully your chain of fate is intact, meaning you'll live," said Ishida, as he cupped her face between his hands, trying to keep her attention on him. If it were any other time, Touari would be blushing.

Chain of fate? She heard sirens not too far away. "I'm sorry," she managed to say.

Sapphire eyes grew questioning. "What for? It's not your fault you were attacked, Ueda-san. I should have come to your aid sooner."

Touari remembered the pretty blue light from before, her eyes taking in his ridiculous white outfit. "What are you?"

Something set alight in those blue eyes. "I'm a Quincy," he answered with pride. There was a pause as he took in her dumbfounded expression and then he added, "I'll explain it to you after we get you taken care of, Ueda-san."

Touari managed a nod. The sirens were very close now and she heard two male voices calling out Ishida's name. Then they were surrounding her, asking questions or rattling off commands. Before long, her world went black.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

* * *

Touari first awoke in a dim room, sounds of hospital machines filling her ears. Her eyes lulled around in her head, unable to focus on anything. She could tell that she was on morphine, but she still could feel sharp pain on her right side as she took shallow breaths.

"You're awake. Hey! Isshin, Ryuken! Is Touari supposed to be awake before Orihime gets here?"

Touari heard quick footsteps outside the room. She finally gained enough control over her eyes to where she looked around efficiently enough. She saw a black cat sitting on the table next to her bed, her vision randomly becoming unfocused. It was studying her, but something about it gave it a more human aspect. Touari managed to look around quickly; no one else was in the room with her. Did the cat just talk?

Two men came into the room just then. A thin man with white hair and looked serious, following him was a bulky, hairy man with brown hair and a goofy look on his face. The white haired man spoke first as he pulled out a syringe with something in it and headed towards Touari's I.V..

"Kurosaki, does that cat woman need to be here? She's scaring Ueda-san."

Touari suddenly became aware of the frantic beeping of the machines. She watched as the white haired man injected the contents of the syringe into her I.V.. After a moment the beeping died down to normal and she suddenly felt really tired again.

"Maybe it's because she saw your ugly mug, Ryuken," said the male voice from earlier. The cat was female? Why is everyone so strange?

_Weirdos._

Touari was asleep again, and she was grateful.

* * *

Touari awoke, possibly many hours later, to a dim room, but this time everything was tinted orange and there was a gentle hum surrounding her. She felt warm and at peace. Touari found herself smiling and snuggling into the hospital blankets.

"Ueda-san, how are you feeling?"

Touari looked over to see Inoue sitting next to her bed, concern in her eyes. "I'm feeling much better," she managed after a moment of testing her right side. She examined the orange light around her for a moment. "Is it because of this? Did you do this?" she said as she gestured towards the orange light.

Inoue nodded, smiling. "Yes. I'm able to heal. Perhaps I'll explain my abilities to you sometime." Her eyes lit up. "Oh! We'll go out for hot chocolate and donuts!"

Touari, again, found herself smiling. After all, the girl was easy to like. She was about to ask another question when she heard a familiar male voice.

"Inoue-san, you're drooling."

Touari and Inoue looked over in the direction of the door. Ishida was standing there, leaning against the wall. She watched as he pushed up his glasses and then tucked his hair behind his left ear. A nervous habit Touari found endearing. He was still in his ridiculous white outfit, and he looked tired. Did he stay here all night?

"Oops," said Inoue as she sheepishly wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and giggled.

"You should get some sleep, Ishida-san," said Touari, her hazel eyes locking with sapphire.

"I'm fine, Ueda-san. You should be concerned about your own health. I'm sure you're curious about a lot of things, anyways. I heard you met Yoruichi-san. She surprised us all a couple years ago in a similar fashion. That woman has no tact sometimes."

Touari blinked, her brow furrowing in thought. Yoruichi? "That cat? You sure he's a woman? How can a cat talk anyways?"

Ishida cleared his throat, a faint blush appearing on his cheeks. "Ah, yes. Yoruichi-san is indeed a woman. Her cat form has a masculine voice for what ever reason."

Said black cat sauntered in, then disappeared and reappeared on Ishida's shoulder. "Have you been watching me when I'm naked, Uryu? Such a perverted young boy."

"It's hard not to see when you trans-"

Yoruichi transformed into her human self, a tall curvy woman with tan skin and long purple hair. She was very naked and began to tease Ishida by hugging his head to her chest. Ishida was protesting and trying to get free of Yoruichi's grasp. Next to Touari, Inoue just smiled. Apparently this was normal.

A man with white hair came into the room, hitting Ishida on the head. "Stop being so loud. This is a hospital. Yoruichi... Please stop tormenting my son."

Yoruichi let go of Ishida and smirked mischievously at the man. "You seem jealous, Ryuken."

The man, apparently his name Ishida Ryuken, just glowered at Yoruichi. Ishida, finding his composure, glowered at them both. "Why did you hit me, Ryuken? We're the only ones on this floor."

"My hospital, my rules," was the simple reply from Ryuken. He then turned and gave his attention to Inoue. "How is Ueda-san coming along?"

"Almost fully healed, Ryuken-san, though she might need to rest for a day or so," came the bubbly reply from Inoue.

"Good," said Ryuken and then turned his attention to Touari, his blue eyes serious. "Are you aware that you're a chimera? You possess two different blood types so I had to give you a universal blood type, since you lost a lot of blood before Inoue got here. I hope you carry some sort of information with you in case of emergencies, Ueda-san."

Touari didn't hear anything Ryuken had said. Her eyes flitted from person to person, and she grew impatient as questions kept bubbling up inside her. "Just who are you people? Some sort of weird secret organization who protects the world?" she exclaimed. They all leveled their gaze on her, everyone was serious. "Oh, you've got to be kidding me," she said exasperatedly, rubbing her face warily with one hand.

"Ueda-san, please don't raise your voice and don't lump me with those idiots. Did you hear anything I said?" came the voice of Ryuken.

"That's cold, Ryuken. Don't listen to that icy bastard, Ueda-chan," said the hairy man from before. When did he show up?

"Kurosaki, take the cat woman and leave," said Ryuken, his glasses glinting.

"Kurosaki? Are you Kurosaki Ichigo's father? No wonder he's so weird," mused Touari.

There was a snort, and all eyes were on Ishida. He had a hand over his mouth, his shoulders shaking slightly. He was trying not to laugh. When he noticed everyone was staring at him, he cleared his throat and pushed up his glasses, his poker face back in action.

"What? She had a point..."

Ryuken sighed. "Ueda-san, did you hear anything I said earlier?"

"Huh? Well, no."

"Are you aware you're a chimera?"

"Oh. I've known most of my life. Kind of weird, but now it only serves as a reminder that I could have had a twin and that I wouldn't be so alone," she said, though she hadn't meant to say that last part so she shrugged casually. "I normally carry a special piece of paper in my wallet, but I had left it at home. I'm sorry."

"Alright. Get some rest, Ueda-san," said Ryuken before he turned his attention to Kurosaki and Yoruichi. "You two, out. Put some clothes on, Yoruichi."

Touari heard bickering as those three left and traveled down the hallway. So much for keeping quiet in a hospital. What a hypocrite.

"Ueda-san," said Ishida, trying to get her attention and possibly ask some questions.

"I'm guessing that Kurosaki Ichigo, Arisawa Tatsuki, Asano Keigo, Kojima Mizuiro, and Sado Yasutora all have special abilities then?"

"There are more people than just them, but no. Arisawa, Asano, and Kojima are just spiritually aware. Sado has abilities, but he's been missing for a while now. Kurosaki used to be the strongest of us all but... He lost his powers about a year ago," said Ishida. Touari noticed a sadness in Inoue's eyes.

"Is that why he's been so utterly depressed? How did he lose his powers?"

"I'm going to tell you everything, Ueda-san. Do you think you're able to take in this kind of information right now?"

"Yes"

"Everything pretty much started just before you transferred to Karakura High..."

* * *

Touari's mind was swimming. By the time Ishida had caught her up on everything Inoue had deemed that she was fully healed and called back her fairies. Tons of new terminology was swimming in her head. Shinigami, Gotei 13, Soul Society, Seireitei, Vizard, Arrancar, Hueco Mundo, and so much more. Touari supposed that everything made sense now, and that time when she thought she fainted and woke up on the sidewalk, seeing people sleeping everywhere. That wasn't in her head. That actually happened.

"So... You and your father are Quincy, which are kind of the opposite of the Shinigami. Apparently you're enemies, which explains Ryuken-san's attitude. Why did you help? What are Inoue and Sado then? Why is Sado missing? I thought he has been sick. Tell me more about shinigami!" By the time Touari had finished talking her words were starting to run into each other. She was surprisingly excited about all this information. Mostly because she realized she wasn't alone or suffering from a mental illness.

"I helped because the situation was bigger than my pride as a Quincy. If Aizen had succeeded, then everything was all for naught. Plus it ticked off Ryuken," said Ishida, a smile playing at his lips. "Inoue's abilities are similar to a shinigami's zanpakutou, but she isn't even a substitute shinigami. There is no name for what she is. The same goes for Sado, but he once confessed that he felt more like an Arrancar. We don't know why Sado has ceased all contact with us and stopped coming to school."

Inoue looked sad. "He does come home, we know that much. I drop off bread from the bakery I work at every day. We're all worried about him. Sado-kun has never been like this before."

"I'm sorry. I wish I could help," she murmured, grabbing Inoue's hand, suprising herself and Inoue in the process, and giving it a reassuring squeeze. Inoue gave a small smile. "You guys said that I have reiatsu right? Could I develop powers too? Am I just a spiritually aware human? If I am I don't think I could stand it. Being a burden is not my thing."

"Oh! You're not a burden, Ueda-san. Tatsuki-chan said that you're pretty amazing at the dojo," said Inoue, her bubbly self back in action.

"Yeah... A lot of good that did me last night, Inoue-san."

Touari noticed sapphire eyes studying her intently, reading her. "Hm," he mused. "Your reiatsu has been around our level for a while now, in fact you're similar to Karin, Kurosaki's little sister. Your reiatsu has been steadily increasing since he lost his powers. You don't sense the reiatsu of others? Perhaps we could have Urahara perform tests."

"What does Kurosaki's powers have to do with my reiatsu?"

"Well, there are two theories regarding why people closest, or at least near Kurosaki developed reiatsu higher than a typical human has. Kurosaki's uncontrolled reiatsu can influence others, so that is a possibility. Similar to why the higher ranked shinigami have to have their reiatsu suppressed when they come here. High reiatsu can interfere with living humans. Then there is the other theory. The hougyoku could have sensed your deepest desire and set you on that path. For all we know, it could have been both," said Ishida thoughtfully, he had begun to pace near the end of Touari's hospital bed. He stopped suddenly. "Ah, I suppose that doesn't answer your question fully. We don't know why you, Karin, even Inoue seem to be getting stronger without Kurosaki's reiatsu present. It could just be time and average developing speed. There are many variables."

Touari sighed, and placed her head in her hands. "What good does being spiritually aware do when I'm practically useless against those supernatural monsters and I can't sense the reiatsu of others?"

"Ueda-san, you're being too hard on yourself. Maybe you need to learn how," said Inoue, smiling at Touari.

_Kami-sama, this girl is like a personal sun. I'm really starting to enjoy being around her._

"Inoue-san has a point. Plus we need to take you to see Urahara. Perhaps he can also give you items that will help keep hollows away."

"Alright. When can I get out of here? I don't much like being in a hospital," Touari said. She was tired, but not enough to warrant staying here.

"After I look you over to make sure nothing is amiss."

All three of them turned their attention to Ryuken who was standing in the doorway looking bored.

"Whoa. How long have you been there?" asked Touari.

"Long enough. Inoue, Uryu, please wait out in the hall while I examine Ueda-san, and detach her from the machines. It shouldn't take long."

* * *

Touari, Inoue, and Ishida all walked out of the hospital. Touari had a clean bill of health, albeit a bit stiff and her joints sore. Most likely from the hospital bed. They traveled on foot in the direction of the shop they had mentioned earlier, Ishida leading the way while Inoue stayed at her side. She was glad that Inoue was able to reverse the damage to her clothing from last night so they looked the same as when she had originally put them on.

No words were spoken and Touari was enjoying the silence. She looked up at the sky. It was early afternoon, and a nice day. Her footsteps came to a halt.

Inoue noticed and stopped, looking at her with concern. "Ueda-san? What's wrong?"

This caused Ishida to stop and look back at them.

"We're supposed to be in school right now!" she exclaimed.

"I guess I forgot to tell you. We already dealt with that stuff. You're home sick, even got you a doctor's note just in case," said Ishida, motioning for them to continue walking.

"That's right! Tatsuki-chan is going to bring us all the work we missed," said Inoue, giggling as she took Touari's hand and began to drag her along.

"Th-thank you," she stammered, and they all fell into another comfortable silence as they went to the shop.

* * *

A/N: I hope you guys like my OC so far. I'm having fun writing her story. Who should she end up with? Ishida? Kurosaki? No one? Let me know!


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3  
**

* * *

Ishida, Inoue, and Touari stood in front of the small shop that she never knew was here. Perhaps because it was a hole in the wall; easy to miss. Touari absentmindedly toyed with the hem of her blue jacket, nervousness welling within the pit of her stomach.

During the last legs of their journey from the hospital to the shop, Ishida took the liberty to forewarn Touari of the eccentric shopkeeper. So naturally she fully expected to be greeted by a lecherous old man. To her surprise, she wasn't exactly far off, but she wasn't correct either.

Ishida was about to slide open the door for Inoue and Touari to enter first, when the shopkeeper himself beat the quincy to it. A slightly unkempt man with a strange hat, and old-fashioned wood clogs barreled through the door. A small squeak escaped Touari's lips at the sudden commotion. Said man leaned down until he was eye level with Touari, their faces mere inches apart. Touari would have moved away and berated the man, but something in his eyes caught Touari off-guard. His eyes spoke of centuries of knowledge and wisdom, which she found odd due to the fact that he barely looked to be in his early thirties.

"Hm," the man mused as he continued to seemingly examine her while stroking his chin thoughtfully. "You're cute. Would you perhaps be interested in older men?"

That's when those eyes took on a perverse quality, effectively breaking what ever spell Touari was in. The words registered and her eyebrow twitched in irritation. Before she could take any action against the pervert, she was pulled away from the man. Touari's back collided with a firm chest, a sinewy arm snaking around her. This action temporarily dispelled any irritation towards the older man, replacing it with surprise as she felt heat rise to her cheeks. It was as if Ishida was staking a claim to ward off the scruffy shopkeeper.

"This isn't the time, Urahara-san," Ishida said in an exasperated tone, his lack of sleep evident to the quincy's chagrin. He casually pushed up his glasses with his free hand.

Urahara straightened up and produced a fan from the sleeve of his brown coat. There was a moments pause as the man waved his fan idly in front of his face, his eyes trained on Ishida. He turned around and waved them inside. "Come in, come in," Urahara sang as he walked. "You're just in time for lunch, as I expected."

Touari was held in place for a brief moment by Ishida as they watched Urahara disappear into the shop followed by Orihime before the quincy finally remembered he was holding Touari a little too close given the situation. Ishida released her and cleared his throat. Touari stepped forwards to put some distance between them before looking at the quincy over her shoulder, appearing to be seeking confirmation as to whether it was truly a good idea to trust the lecher. Ishida nodded and so they both joined everyone in the shop.

* * *

They were all seated around a low table in the middle of eating the food that Urahara had prepared in a tense silence. Touari, having made sure to sit between Ishida and Inoue, was eying the lecher cautiously as she ate. Urahara seemed nonplussed by her behavior, but then he looked towards the shop's entrance, seeming to do a mental countdown. The door slid open with a clatter as a large and well built man stepped into the shop, holding several boxes.

"Ah, Tessai! There you are. What took so long?" the shopkeeper exclaimed good-naturedly as he rose from his place at the table and headed towards the large man.

Tessai chuckled as he let Urahara lessen his load by relieving him of a couple boxes and they headed out of the room, chatting amiably.

Touari stared after them dumbly. Was that large man one of them too? She pondered for a moment, her food forgotten. She was brought out of her thoughts as Urahara and Tessai returned to the room, Tessai now holding a bowl of food. He situated himself between Inoue and Urahara.

"Tessai, this is Ueda Touari. She is the girl I mentioned some time ago," Urahara stated casually to his comrade.

In response, Tessai inclined his head in a respectful bow towards Touari. "Nice to meet you, Touari-chan. My name is Tessai," he greeted warmly.

Touari wasn't paying him much attention as she leveled her scrutinizing gaze upon the shopkeeper. In turn, Urahara met her gaze with an impassive stare of his own. The rising tension caused Inoue to fidget, not knowing what to do to diffuse the situation. Ishida narrowed his eyes, staring at nothing.

"I didn't introduce myself to you yet, Urahara-san. You also speak as if you've known of my existence for some time now," Touari bit out. She didn't know why she was upset, but something seemed amiss.

Urahara sipped his tea slowly before waving her off. "To be fair, anyone with enough reiatsu can sense you easily enough," he said as if it was nothing. At the look he received from Touari, he added in a more serious tone, "You don't really expect someone like me to not be aware of every spiritual event that goes on within this town, do you? I keep track of anyone that has higher than normal reiatsu. In fact, you're still alive because of me."

Beside Touari, Ishida pushed up his glasses to hide his scoff. Surely the old shopkeeper isn't the only reason this girl was alive. He had done his fair share of killing hollows, and the same could be said for Inoue and Chad. That is, before the bastard ditched them.

"You weren't the one who saved me last night," Touari said as she glared at Urahara.

The shopkeeper briefly frowned and seemed to ponder that statement for a moment. "That is true. I suppose that had to do with your luck. That hollow manifested itself in your location. If you had gone to sleep like a good girl, it most likely wouldn't have even made contact with you. You're lucky that Ishida-kun has sharp senses."

"So it's my fault I was attacked?" she said in disbelief. "Perhaps if the almighty shopkeeper had addressed certain things with me ages ago, we wouldn't be sitting here having this discussion!"

"U-Ueda-san-" Inoue attempted but was cut off harshly.

"Quiet!"

Inoue flinched, her eyes downcast. Tessai placed a comforting hand upon her shoulder.

"I thought I was crazy. Maybe I am. At first when Inoue and Ishida approached me, I didn't think anything of it at the time... But you guys knew I was different, that I was privy to things billions of people will never be aware of. Don't treat me like some incapable piece of trash when this whole thing could have been settled way before yesterday!"

"Touari! Sit down."

Everyone's eyes locked onto Yoruichi, who was thankfully fully clothed. The woman was casually leaning against the wall, her golden eyes fixed on Touari.

Touari hadn't realized she was standing and so she plopped back down, her anger and resentment contained for the time being. She stared down into her lap, unable to meet anyone's gaze.

"Can't a cat get any sleep around here?" Yoruichi halfheartedly complained as she sauntered over to the table and sat between Ishida and Urahara. "Kisuke, you shouldn't toy with the girl like that. She's not Ichigo."

Urahara shrugged while sipping his tea.

Yoruichi shook her head. "So, how come you guys are here? I would have thought you would all be asleep at home. You look really tired, Uryu."

"I'm fine, Yoruichi-san," the quincy stated dismissively. "I thought it might be a good idea to come here and introduce Ueda-san to Urahara-san. Perhaps he could give some insight as to why Ueda-san has relatively high reiatsu but no known abilities. Speaking of, are there any tests for that sort of thing?"

"No need for that."

Everyone stared at Urahara.

"I'm not surprised you didn't pick up on it, Ishida-kun. You wouldn't unless you were in Soul Society, constantly around souls who were transitioning into shinigami. Only then would you know what to look for."

Ishida frowned, but appeared thoughtful. "Ueda-san doesn't feel anything like Kurosaki."

"No, she wouldn't. Kurosaki-kun is an extremely unique case. There is only one other human I've ever encountered with reiatsu like Ueda-san's."

Touari, Inoue, and Ishida looked at Urahara questioningly while Yoruichi and Tessai seemed to frown. Urahara stared intently at Touari.

"So... You're saying that I'm a shinigami?" Touari finally managed.

"No."

Touari raised an eyebrow. "Then what are you saying?"

"I'm saying you resemble a soul at which is developing, and transitioning into a shinigami. It's impossible for a human to become one on their own."

"Kurosaki Ichigo was one, right? Couldn't I become like him? How do you even know for sure what I am?"

"You could, in a way, become a substitute shinigami just like Ichigo was," answered Urahara. He gave a crooked grin. "Tell me, have you had a reoccurring dream? Almost every night for the last year or so your reiatsu spikes at least once." He looked over towards Ishida. "I'm sure you've felt it, too, as you live closest to Ueda-san."

Touari looked like she saw a ghost, figuratively speaking of course. Was he referring to the dream she kept having of the man and a woman who turn into dragons? That dream actually meant something? "W-what does my dream have to do with any of this?"

"Let me preface this by saying I've done extensive amount of research regarding how a soul transitions into a shinigami. It's relatively common for someone, though it doesn't seem to be limited to just a soul, but a living human as well, to have reoccurring dreams. These dreams are your zanpakutou's spirit trying to connect with you. It seems the more powerful the individual, the clearer the dreams are."

Touari stared dumbly at the scruffy shopkeeper as she processed this information. She felt multiple pairs of eyes studying her, but it didn't seem to bother her at the moment. "So..." she trailed off, trying to form words. "The people I keep dreaming about... They're potentially my zanpakutou?"

Urahara's eyes widened, as did Yoruichi's and Tessai's. Even Ishida seemed slightly surprised by this information, though Inoue seemed confused by the reaction. "People, Ueda-san?" Urahara inquired curiously.

Touari fidgeted where she sat, frowning. "Uh, yeah? That's what I said."

Urahara produced that fan again, hiding part of his face. "I see. How many?"

"Two."

"Are they both female?"

Touari thought that question strange. "No. A man and a woman."

"Interesting," Urahara mused. "How much do you know about shinigami and their zanpakutou?"

Touari fidgeted again, finally feeling the effects of the pairs of eyes watching her. "Well... If those questions are relevant, then perhaps not as much as I should."

"A shinigami's zanpakutou isn't a mere weapon, and certainly nothing like the quincy's spirit weapons. They are, in a way, companions. The spirit that resides in a zanpakutou is a representation of ones inner self. Sometimes, though it isn't very common, a shinigami has a hard time coming to terms with the nature of their zanpakutou and begin to forsake it. Usually that results in diminished potential or the bond completely breaks, thus the communication ceases and the zanpakutou becomes nothing more than a common sword," lectured the shopkeeper while mentally recalling the information he had on a few individuals in the Gotei 13. "That being said, it's rare for the gender of the spirit to be the opposite of its master. Though I, myself, have a female zanpakutou spirit. It's even more rare for a shinigami to manifest more than one spirit. There are only two shinigami that we currently know of who possess two spirits, and subsequently dual-wield. They are two of the four oldest captains within the Gotei 13."

Touari let this information sink in for a moment, unaware of Yoruichi studying her with interest as she sipped her tea because the woman was itching to get her hands on the girl and train her. That is if Touari decides to take the plunge and become a human shinigami. Yoruichi doubted the girl knew the risks of the process and even the status would entail, which made her frown slightly.

After a moment of silence, Urahara smirked and waved his fan around his face. "You truly are an interesting specimen, Ueda-san."

Touari bulked at being referred to as a specimen, and sent the man a glare which ended up losing a bit of its potency when she remembered something. "So, you said that it's impossible for a human to become a shinigami on their own, right? If I wanted to, how would I go about it? You said I could be one."

"You have to die, of course."

Everyone froze, besides Tessai and Yoruichi, at Urahara's casually spoken words. The latter of which tsk'd and scoffed at Urahara. Ishida and Inoue didn't know most of the details of the process which Ichigo once went through.

"Idiot! Don't say it like that. You'll scare Touari away."

Touari frowned at Yoruichi constantly saying her name so familiarly. She sighed before returning her full attention on Urahara. "I have to die? But Kurosaki Ichigo..." she trailed off, unsure of what to say. The guy lost his powers, but he was still alive and classified as a normal human now. Touari didn't understand.

"I developed a unique process for ones such like yourself. Kurosaki-kun went through it and emerged perfectly fine. You'll understand it more if you decide to do the same," the shopkeeper paused, looking at a clock on the wall. "Ururu and Jinta should be home in a couple hours. I'll give you until their return to think on it as today is as good a time as any. The last part of the process takes three days, and today is Thursday. Until then, why don't I go prepare a futon for Ishida-kun," he said while standing and making his way out of the room and towards the living space in the back of the shop.

"Excuse me?"

Urahara turned back for a moment, a sly grin in place as he looked at Ishida. "You've adjusted your glasses five times in the past two minutes to cover up your drooping eyes. It won't hurt to sleep for a few hours."

Touari frowned as she watched the boy next to her tuck his hair behind one ear and cross his arms petulantly while fighting a yawn. "I'm fine."

"Now, now," Urahara chided. "Be a good little quincy and follow me," he said, and with that he turned and resumed heading towards his destination.

Ishida glowered at the man's retreating back, intent on staying where he was, and not liking being treated like a weak little kid.

"You should take the offer, Uryu," Yoruichi said lazily, though her tone was final, her eyes averting to Inoue as the girl yawned too. "You, too, Orihime."

"Huh?" Inoue said intelligently. "Oh, no. I'm alright! Just got up earlier than usual is all," she laughed nervously.

Between them, Touari gave an exasperated sigh while she stared down at her lap. "Are you two always so stubborn?" she absentmindedly inquired. "I mean... I expected it from Ishida-san, but not you, Inoue-san."

In response, Ishida sent Touari an amused look, while Inoue blinked comically. "Eh? I'm fine, really. Don't worry about me."

Touari gave another sigh, looked up, and hazel met gray in an unwavering gaze. "What ever is holding you back from taking a nap, forget it, Inoue-san. Take care of yourself, and don't feel like a burden. You're tired because of me, and I won't forgive myself if you somehow get sick from lack of sleep or whatever," the corners of her lips twitched as she almost laughed at the look on Inoue's face. "Spending an exorbitant amount of time as a wallflower, you tend to pick up on quirks of individuals; things people do when they think others aren't watching. Perhaps I know you better than you give me credit for, Inoue-san."

Inoue fixed her expression to that of a sunny disposition, though the smile didn't fully reach her eyes. "I suppose you're right, Ueda-san." She stood and was about to make her way over to the door when she felt a hand on her wrist. "Ueda-san?"

"I'm sorry... You know, for snapping at you earlier. I didn't mean-" she was cut off by giant breasts smothering her face as Inoue had decided to show her forgiveness through a rather excited and clumsy hug. Even though she was being smothered, something about the physical show of affection towards her was nice and not as offensive as she might have thought. Touari found herself awkwardly returning the hug before Ishida deemed it necessary to speak.

"Inoue-san... You're smothering Ueda-san."

Inoue quickly released Touari and gave her an apologetic look. "I'm sorry, Ueda-san!"

Touari took a brief moment to catch up on breathing and then waved Inoue's apology away. "It's okay. That hug wasn't completely intolerable," she allowed while sending the girl a small smile. Inoue had returned the smile with one of her own sunny ones, this one reaching her eyes.

_Thought so._

Turning towards the quincy next to her, Touari fixed her eyes on his. "Now, are you going to go get some rest or are you going to force me into using my knowledge in pressure points to knock you out? Quincy or not... I'm sure it'll work just the same."

Ishida regarded her with amusement clear in his tired sapphire eyes, a smile threatening to tug at the corners of his lips. "Alright, fine," he made a show of sighing exasperatedly. "You didn't need to threaten me, you know." Ishida stood and then paused, looking down at Touari. "Will you be fine on your own for a while? I'm sorry if you feel like we're ditching you, Ueda-san."

Touari shrugged and then caught the way Yoruichi was eying her with interest. "Hm," she mused. "More like tossing me into a den of hungry wolves," she joked, and then waved away the slight frown on Ishida's brow. "Off with you, Ishida-san, Inoue-san. I'll be fine."

"That's right. Touari will be perfectly fine in my care. Besides, what will a little bonding time hurt?" Yoruichi grinned and then shared a look with Tessai.

The large man who was momentarily forgotten, which admittedly was strange considering his size, rose and started clearing the table of dishes left over from lunch and then lastly he grabbed the tea pot. "Ah, the tea has grown cold. I'll go make a fresh pot," he announced as he left the room.

Ishida and Inoue finally left to get some sleep shortly after, much to Touari's relief. The girl covered her mouth with a small hand as she yawned, cursing herself for not holding it in.

"You should take a nap too, Touari," Yoruichi studied her with seriousness while fiddling with her empty tea cup. "You probably need the rest."

Touari gave an unladylike snort, "I think I deserve to be a hypocrite at the moment. Besides, I won't be able to sleep for any amount of time."

Yoruichi nodded, pursing her lips in thought. "You're taking all of this pretty well, you know. I'd say marginally better than Ichigo did, though possibly not as well as Orihime and Chad. What do you think you'll do now?"

Touari was silent for a long moment as she thought over her options. She really didn't like the idea of remaining the same as she was now. Not if it meant more work for everyone. "Did Urahara-san really mean I'd have to die?"

"What he meant was after Ururu helps you adjust to your soul form, he'll have to sever your chain of fate. Once he does that you're technically dead as the chain connects your soul to your body. It'll be temporary should you succeed."

"Succeed?"

"Did they not tell you how hollows come to be?" Yoruichi was mildly shocked by this.

"I don't recall anything about that... I thought they just came from their world. Hueco Mundo."

"Hollows were once souls, Touari. If a soul lingers in this world for too long, unable to pass on due to regrets or what ever their problem is, their chain of fate slowly eats itself away and eventually leaving a hole in a soul's chest. They go through a process and become monsters with a never ending hunger for other souls."

Touari's eyes were wide, "So, you're saying..."

Yoruichi nodded once. "You have about a 50/50 chance to emerge a hollow, and if you do... We'll have to kill you."

Touari stiffened, her heart pounding at the thought.

"Kisuke wouldn't have told you until it was too late to turn back. Though I'll tell you this. If Ichigo could succeed at overcoming the hollowfication, I think you can too. That boy was a vizard, as he was born with a hollow inside him, so his chances were more skewed."

Touari relaxed slightly at that. She vaguely understood what a vizard was but she didn't understand how a living person could be born with a hollow inside them. Then again, from what she understood of this Aizen guy, Ichigo was, in a way, an experiment. Touari would ask about that later, as right now it wasn't exactly important. Something else then occurred to her.

"Did you guys put Ishida and Inoue up to recruit me or something?" It was nagging at her, and depending on Yoruichi's response, she would have a better understanding of everyone's intentions towards herself.

Yoruichi was slightly taken aback by the question but then she realized that it sort of seemed that way. "No, Kisuke and I kept tabs on you and monitored your growth. We kept that stuff to ourselves because even after the war, it wasn't like we wanted to drag more people into all of this. There are more threats on the horizon, but after last night and all... Perhaps it's for the better that you're involved. That is, if you choose to accept Kisuke's offer."

"So, Ishida and Inoue talked to me of their own volition?"

Yoruichi nodded. "Uryu has been the one who kept the hollows from getting too close to you this whole time. Except for the times he was helping in the war, but other than that... He's made sure you're as safe as possible until he finally decided to talk to you about it. Chad's absence is unnerving, and not just to his friends but to us as well. Maybe he was trying to do us all a favor and warm you up to the idea of helping us, though that plan of his was moderately flawed as he had no idea if you even had abilities. It was obvious after the conversation earlier. It's strange for that boy to act without a proper plan. Anyways, their actions are purely of their own accord. Think of myself and the others who run this shop as the bridge between Soul Society and the world of the living. We don't necessarily command people around here. Kisuke, myself, and Tessai's days of commanding squads of soldiers has long since passed."

Touari tried to fight the blush spreading across her cheeks. Ishida has been looking out for her all this time? He didn't even know her, never spoke a single word to her until recently and he still... Touari was smiling despite herself. She realized that and coughed to cover up the change in countenance. "So... How come you originally had no intentions of getting me involved?"

Yoruichi's eyes narrowed briefly as she thought of the best approach. "Even though Aizen is imprisoned for good, and hollow activity has died down dramatically... Kisuke has been working himself to death to find a way to restore Ichigo's powers as he knows that kid is too stubborn to admit he's lost. Keeps claiming he is enjoying his new normal life, but he's putting up a front. Most likely because he doesn't want to get his hopes up when it turns out he's permanently stuck the way he is now," the woman sighed, her amber eyes sad. "I would normally take over for Kisuke, but this past year I've been traveling between worlds, following leads and information gathering, as well as devising plans and keeping track of an old _friend_. Said friend has something to do with Chad's behavior, and what ever he's planning to do... It's not good."

There was a long silence, and Touari felt like she had been let in on a secret or two. "Do Inoue and Ishida know all of this?"

"No, and especially not of Kisuke's project. They do know, however, that something is up."

"Then why tell me this?"

Yoruichi grinned. "You're not close to them, so this information isn't going to influence you. At least not in the way it would Uryu and Orihime. It's better for them to have some sort of normalcy for now."

"So, naturally you decide to disclose information to someone who can't help you rather than to those who can?" Touari said sarcastically, frowning.

Yoruichi rolled her head back and barked a fit of laughter. "You're funny. You act like you can't do anything. Is this you subtly telling me that you decline Kisuke's offer? Or are you backing out because you think you're burdening us? Didn't you just scold Orihime for that earlier?"

Touari fidgeted, staring down at her lap while wringing her hands. "I told you that I deserve to be a hypocrite right now. It's either I trouble you with the task of teaching the novice shinigami when you could be doing something more productive, or I place my well-being in the hands of Ishida and Inoue."

Yoruichi grew deadly serious as she appraised the girl across from her. "Which is the lesser of the two evils; learning how to walk on your own two feet, or relying on people who may not be around forever? Do you want to pretend to live a normal life, or do you want to use this chance to find your purpose? I'll be honest with you, Touari. Being a shinigami isn't sunshine and rainbows. You'll face death constantly. If you truly want to risk everything, I'm more than willing to make time and teach you to the best of my ability. Hell, I've been itching to get a hold of you since I met you."

Touari thought about it, and the longer she did, the more she wanted to take the huge risk and take the offer. She wanted to help and she had a chance to. It was much better than her relatively mundane and pathetic life thus far.

She brushed her fringe out of her eyes as she leveled a strong gaze on Yoruichi. "I'll do it. I accept your offer," her tone was confidant and final.

Yoruichi cracked a grin. "I thought you would."

"Answer one more question for me before we go any further."

"Hm?"

"Why is it he gave me until Ururu and Jinta showed up?"

Yoruichi's grin grew and took on a sinister quality. "Ururu is essential for the first part, as I vaguely mentioned earlier."

"Why?" Touari squeaked.

"Heh... She's rather scary, and nothing works as a better motivator than fear."

Her imagination went wild, envisioning some scary psychopath trying to 'motivate' her. Touari shivered and swallowed loudly.

Yoruichi just laughed. "What happened to the confidence?"

"I, uh... Is it too late to back out?" she tried.

"Yep, 'fraid so," the woman guffawed.

"Damn," she muttered, but found herself smiling despite the impending doom she would soon face.

* * *

A/N: and there we have it folks! Please don't forget to leave a review as it helps me keep writing. I hope you enjoyed my OC so far.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

* * *

They were all down in the training grounds under Urahara's shop, minus Ishida and Inoue as they were still sleeping in the living quarters. Loud smashing noises, the clatter of chain, and shouted expletives were heard as the two former captains, Tessai, and Jinta watched on with great amusement.

"Nostalgic, isn't it?" Yoruichi inquired, a grin with a manic edge threatening to split her face in two.

"Indeed," was Urahara's response, his own grin hidden behind his fan as he casually sidestepped a bit of debris that flew his way. "Though I wish you hadn't informed her before hand."

Beside them, Jinta was laughing hysterically at Touari.

* * *

_Earlier..._

* * *

Touari and Yoruichi were still alone, sitting at the low table, and conversing amicably when Yoruichi remembered Tessai's promise of fresh tea ages ago. She abruptly stood, "Ah, sorry. I should go see what's taking Tessai so long with the tea. I'll be right back," was all she said before slinking out of the room, completely forgetting the fact that she was the one who warded Tessai out to begin with.

Touari managed a nod, staring idly at the empty cup in front of her. She had forgotten about the tea as well, though mostly because she didn't miss the look Yoruichi gave the poor man to begin with. She found herself smiling at the woman's antics, and was happy that Yoruichi was pretty straight with her. Unknowingly, Yoruichi managed to coax a great deal of trust from Touari already. A fact that scared the girl a little.

She heard the door slide open, and looked up, fully ready to tease Yoruichi but the words died on her tongue as her hazel eyes locked onto chocolate brown. There was an awkward silence as Kurosaki Ichigo stared at her in surprise, all traces of his signature scowl gone. "Uh... Hi," Touari said dumbly.

Kurosaki blinked a few times, before shifting from foot to foot, looking slightly uncomfortable. "Sorry, uh..." he trailed off, not remembering her name but he knew she was the girl who sat behind him in school.

"Ueda Touari," she supplied, sending him a flat and unimpressed look.

"Right," Kurosaki gave a slight nod. "Sorry, Ueda. I'm just looking for Mr. Hat-and-Clogs err... Urahara. Do you know where he is? Or Yoruichi?"

Touari appraised him for a moment, frowning as Kurosaki had addressed her in a familiar manner, but not as familiar as Yoruichi, and she was aware that he did that with everyone. Not that she openly complained. She was also confused as to why he seemed slightly nervous by her being at the shop. "Urahara-san is somewhere around here, not sure where exactly. Yoruichi-san is probably in the kitchen, making tea," she shrugged casually.

"Right..." Kurosaki murmured, not moving from his spot at the door. He continued to stare at Touari, his brow furrowed in thought.

Touari sighed, her frown deepening. "What is it, Kurosaki-san?"

There was a long silence again. "Why are you here?"

Touari had a feeling he would ask, but she was still taken aback by the question. She really didn't know how to answer. The truth she supposed, but she didn't want to inadvertently hurt Kurosaki by bringing up a world the boy was no longer a part of. She spent several minutes opening and closing her mouth, trying to formulate the best response when Yoruichi showed up again, and with fresh tea.

"What a pleasant surprise! It's been a while, Ichigo. You don't come around much anymore. You know you're always welcome, kid," Yoruichi reached up and ruffled Kurosaki's orange locks, causing the boy to playfully bat away her hand. The woman obliged and moved to set the hot tea pot on the table in the room.

"Yeah, sorry about that, Yoruichi. I'm here to pick up Karin's usual supplies. She's sick and Yuzu is taking care of her. Took me ages to pry out of my sister as to what was frustrating her, so..." he trailed off awkwardly.

Yoruichi patted him on the shoulder briefly, "You can help yourself to some tea if you want. I'll go ask Urahara about it. I'll be right back with Karin's supplies," and so she turned and headed out in search of Urahara.

Another awkward silence descended upon Touari and Kurosaki as the boy shifted from foot to foot again and stared down at the floor.

"I-uh..." Touari tried.

Kurosaki looked up and met her gaze. "Forget I asked, Ueda. I don't really want to know..." he trailed off, obviously a new habit he's picked up lately. He opened his school bag and fished out three separate stacks of school work Touari, Ishida, and Inoue missed, along with the necessary notes. Kurosaki set them on the table. "Tatsuki found out I was headed here after school and asked me to drop them off," he explained.

She nodded, staring at the stacks of work on the table. Touari understood why he didn't want her to answer. She figured her apprehension was answer enough for Kurosaki. "How did Tatsuki know we were here?"

"Tatsuki always knows where Inoue is, unless she..." Kurosaki trailed off, again, with a distant look in his brown eyes. He was remembering the day at school when Tatsuki broke a window using his head, upset because Inoue was in Hueco Mundo and she couldn't feel her anymore. Kurosaki shook his head, trying to clear the memories away.

Touari didn't know what to say. It seemed she was careless by asking such a question. Luckily Yoruichi showed up again with a white plastic bag in hand. The woman handed it to Kurosaki who took it and smiled appreciatively.

"Thank you, Yoruichi. How much do I owe you?"

Yoruichi quirked an eyebrow, and ruffled his orange hair affectionately. "You know Kisuke doesn't charge you and your family for anything you need that he can supply."

Kurosaki scratched the back of his head and gave a short laugh. "Yeah, but I can't help but ask anyways."

"You and Karin both," Yoruichi smirked.

Two kids appeared in the doorway, a few years younger than herself. Touari guessed they were Jinta and Ururu.

"What's up, Ichigo?" the boy, Jinta, greeted.

"H-hello, Ichigo," came the meek greeting from the girl.

Kurosaki merely waved a hand awkwardly in greeting.

"You two are a little late coming home," Yoruichi eyed them, specifically Jinta. Touari didn't think Yoruichi could sound so authoritative, like a parent.

Jinta rolled his eyes, "Yeah, well, Ururu kept tripping."

"Tripping? Or were you picking on Ururu again?"

Kurosaki cleared his throat. "I, uh... I should go home now. Thanks again, Yoruichi, and tell Urahara I said thank you, please."

Yoruichi took a moment to smile sweetly at Kurosaki before he headed out of the shop. "Will do, tell everyone I said hi and that I hope Karin feels better soon," she called after him.

"Yeah, I will," he waved, not bothering to turn around.

As soon as Kurosaki was out of the shop, Yoruichi returned to scolding Jinta which ended up with Yoruichi giving the boy noogies while he loudly complained. Touari sat there, dumbfounded.

_Yeah... So much for thinking of Yoruichi as a, sort of, parental figure for these kids._

"Ah, there you two are," came the voice of Urahara. At the sound of Urahara's approach, the squabbling ceased and Jinta settled for scowling at the woman. Urahara trained his eyes onto Touari, "So, what is your decision?"

She found herself looking between Urahara and Ururu. Certainly this meek, and shy individual wasn't as scary as she was made out to be by Yoruichi. Touari sighed heavily. That woman was delusional if she was truly serious, but chances were... Yoruichi lied. So much for trusting everything she said.

"I wish to go through with it. I accept your offer, Urahara-san," Touari announced as she stood from the table and made her way over to the gathering of people at the doorway.

Urahara's eyes lit up with mischief, well more than usual. "Good to here!" the shopkeeper looked around at everyone. "Well, shall we begin?"

"Huh? Begin what?" Jinta asked, looking between Touari and Urahara. "Who the hell is this chick?"

Urahara casually swatted Jinta on the back of the head with his cane. "Don't be so rude, Jinta. This is Ueda Touari. She has decided to take my offer. In three days, we may just have a new substitute shinigami among us."

Yeah, the bastard had to remind her that there was a chance she would end up a hollow. Great.

"Ururu, can you go get ready? I need your help like last time."

"Yes," was the simple reply and then the meek girl was off. Presumably to change out of her school uniform.

"Alright then! Let me get Tessai and then we'll head down," Urahara announced and then left.

"Um, down where?" Touari asked smartly.

Yoruichi grinned. "Where else but the training grounds? Follow me, Touari." Yoruichi lead Touari to a trap door that the girl hadn't noticed before and opened it up.

"Man, I can't wait to see Ururu beat you to a pulp."

Touari turned to pin Jinta with a cold stare. She leaned in, appraising him for a moment. "If I turn into a hollow, I'm going to eat you first." She straightened and turned around. It was childish, and she knew it.

"Yeah right! You wouldn't be able to even touch me, lady. In fact I-"

Touari tuned out the kid behind her and peered down into the hole in the floor. "Can I go down there now?"

Yoruichi shrugged. "I'd wait. Kisuke and Tessai get upset when they miss the reactions of first-timers."

Touari quirked an eyebrow at that. What was so special about a basement referred to as the 'training grounds'?

"Good! You waited. Let's head down shall we?" and so Urahara lead the way down, everyone in tow.

* * *

It took way too long for Touari's liking to climb down that ridiculous ladder. She was just glad that she didn't possess some sort of aversion to heights. Sighing, Touari turned around and surveyed the area, ignoring the several pairs of eyes watching her expectantly. She froze and began to ponder about how it was even possible for such a large place to exist under the small shop, but somehow...

Touari turned around and fixed an unimpressed gaze on Urahara. "Why am I not surprised?"

Urahara frowned, and tsk'd. "Such a boring reaction to such an amazing place!" he chided and then turned to Tessai. "Hey, Tessai. Should we go wake up Inoue-san and have her reenact her initial reaction? Hers was brilliant and on par."

Tessai nodded adamantly, making a show of wiping under his eyes. "Her reaction brought me to tears."

Touari crossed her arms and began to tap her foot on the ground. "I get it. Now can we continue?" It wasn't like she was a particularly impatient person, but she was slightly on edge for what was to come. Not to mention she was also fighting the ever growing urge to punch the wit out of Urahara. Touari wasn't an especially violent person and thus estimated that she wasn't the only one who ever felt such a desire.

Instantly Urahara grew serious and she didn't even have time to blink as the end of his cane connected with her forehead. Touari stumbled back a few steps before collapsing onto the ground next to where her body lay lifeless. Her eyes never left her body as she registered a few things. It was very hard to breathe, her limbs felt like lead, and she was growing lethargic due to the lack of air. It also wasn't the first time she felt like this, although the first was much more pleasant, ironically enough.

Touari fixed a glare on Urahara, or at least tried to. It lost a considerable amount of heat due to the fact that she was fighting not to pass out. She didn't even care how he did that at this point. "A warning would have been nice," she muttered indignantly, her fingers finding their way to the point at her chest where the chain of fate was.

"Well, you seemed rather impatient," Urahara defended himself while adjusting his ugly hat. Beside him, Jinta was smirking.

Touari settled on ignoring the brat as she didn't feel like attempting another nasty look. "What now?"

"Ururu."

Said girl approached Touari and offered her some gear, the same type she was already sporting herself. "Put these on, please."

Touari took the proffered items and examined them for a moment. They resembled boxing gear; a pair of gloves and a guard for her face. "What good is this when I can't even move, and can barely breathe?" she managed after a moment.

"Don't tell me you forgot what I told you earlier, Touari. Ururu is going to supply motivation for you to get used to your soul form," Yoruichi grinned wolfishly.

As if to punctuate the woman's words, Ururu took the moment to punch the ground near Touari. The girl's surprising brute strength alone was enough to create a decently sized crater in the ground where she aimed. She did that all while smiling sweetly.

Touari swallowed thickly, hazel eyes wide. "Right," she stated nervously and began to put on the gear as fast as she could in her current state, all the while wondering how it'll protect her.

_Note to self: Never doubt Yoruichi again._

Once she was done, Touari managed to stand, albeit stumbling a little. She stayed upright nonetheless and fixed her eyes on Ururu, regarding her warily.

"So, uh... Shall we?" Touari asked lightly.

"You might want to run, and make sure you don't get hit," Ururu warned shyly.

"Not that I doubt you're strong, but just so we're on the same page. Why?"

"You'll actually die if you don't dodge my attacks," the girl deadpanned.

That was more than enough incentive. "Duly noted," she stated dryly. Touari mustered enough strength within her soul form to begin retreating away from the girl who responded in kind by advancing. Something about Ururu was unsettling and so Yoruichi's assessment of her earlier was dead on.

At first Touari's movements were sluggish; she felt like the air around her was viscous, hindering her movements. She had managed to up her speed to running, though she was barely dodging Ururu's attacks. She knew she was missing the purpose of this part, but she felt upset with herself. Touari never imagined having this much difficulty against an opponent. With her background in various hand to hand combat styles, having trained at the dojo for years, she thought it would be easier. She was wrong. Touari's skill wasn't put to the test yet, though she was sure this killing machine chasing after her right now has been.

Eventually Touari felt less delayed; her reflexes were sharpening to something more familiar to her. At this realization, she felt happier about her situation. Touari steeled herself and began running away at a much faster pace and at the same time, she was dodging easier. Each blow sent her way becoming less and less life threatening.

A large rocky surface came into view and Touari got a brilliant, albeit crazy, idea. Instead of avoiding it, she ran straight at it. Using her built up momentum to run up its surface with a few wide steps before propelling herself off, she twisted her body in mid air, which was easier than she thought it might be, though her size helped, and finally she landed on the ground on all fours, sliding a few feet in the process, behind Ururu who had managed to stop herself from colliding into the rock in time.

Touari stood up, her heart racing. She was grinning like a fool at this point, surprisingly enjoying herself. Ururu began to charge at her again, fully expecting her to run like she had been. Touari's high on adrenaline was telling her that it was time to return the favor to Ururu and so she took on an offensive stance and held her ground.

As Ururu grew closer in her advances, Touari used her right leg as an axle point and twisted her body so her outstretched left leg would connect with Ururu's head. Touari knew that Ururu was far from an ordinary human, so she would use the smaller girls momentum behind her own attack against her. Touari's leg successfully connected with its destination, sending the killing machine several yards away. Ururu collided with a boulder, the force of the collision shattering it.

Jinta's obnoxious laughter came to a halt.

Touari stood there for a moment, poised with her left leg up. She merely stared in shock at where Ururu ended up and hoped that she didn't just inadvertently kill the girl; she didn't even think it would be possible with their difference in strength. Touari's momentary adrenaline high was gone. Ururu crawled out of the debris and Touari breathed a sigh of relief, but then she noticed the blood trickling out of her nose and the side of her mouth. She wasn't proud of doing that to the girl, but realistically... It could have been much worse.

Touari finally straightened her posture, unsure if this part of the process was over or not. She was back to feeling nervous and on edge given the fact that Ururu was staring at her as if she was truly promising death. Then the killing machine was off, barreling towards Touari at a pace faster than Touari thought possible. She stood there frozen, the mask of the follow from the night before flashing before her eyes. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she was relating the fully awakened killing intent within Ururu's eyes to that of the hollow's. Her more rational mind was screaming at her, telling her that she was foolish, that she needed to move or do something. Nothing would respond.

Then suddenly the threat diminished. Urahara was restraining Ururu, who visibly calmed at Urahara's touch. Touari stumbled back a few steps, reeling from whatever just happened within her. Her heart was pounding rapidly as she fought to calm down.

"Do you wish to continue, Ueda-san?"

Urahara's voice broke through her internal musings as she had immediately began analyzing everything. Touari met Urahara's eyes and saw that he was deadly serious. For once his goofy demeanor was absent. Her eyes narrowed as she thought about it. "Yes, I do," she said, trying to sound strong. The shopkeeper obviously knew something was up as he would have never offered her an out otherwise. She was sure.

Urahara nodded after a moment of studying her, and then he was back to 'normal.' "Tessai," he sang. "Can you do the honors?"

Before she realized what was happening, Tessai severed her chain of fate, lifted her up unceremoniously with large arms, and held her tight. She really didn't appreciate being manhandled like that and so she started beating against his chest with her fists, which really didn't even register to the man. Yoruichi didn't inform her of this part. Tessai walked over to a spot on the ground and then they were falling. Touari's scream echoed off the walls of the large hole, at least until they were cut off by her own disgruntled groan when they landed at the bottom. Tessai set her down gently and moved to one side of the pit.

Touari rolled onto her hands and knees, taking in a few deep breaths. "Ugh, let's not do that again. Okay big guy?" she groaned.

"My apologies, Touari-chan, but I must do this. Forgive me."

Touari had managed to sit back on her heels when the words Tessai spoke registered. "Wha-"

"Bakudou number 99, part one. Kin."

Touari found her arms borderline painfully restrained behind her back by something. She bowed her head, her dark brown hair cascading around her face. Gritting her teeth and struggling against the binds on her arms she muttered, "Is this really necessary? Why are we down here anyways?"

"Ah, Ueda-san. Make yourself comfortable, you'll be down there for a few days. The first encroachment should start momentarily."

Touari looked up and fixed a venomous glare on Urahara who was peering into the pit. "Why is this necessary? What's the encroachment?" she yelled.

"This pit will help speed up the time it takes for a soul to transition into a hollow, shortening it to 72 hours. The encroachment is what the process is called."

Sure enough she heard little munching noises at her front accompanied by an odd sensation. Touari looked down at the chain at her chest and grimaced as she watched.

_'If a soul lingers in this world for too long, unable to pass on due to regrets or what ever their problem is, their chain of fate slowly eats itself away and eventually leaving a hole in a soul's chest.'_

"So that's what Yoruichi-san was talking about..." she murmured to herself and then shivered. "I wish you had thoroughly explained all of this to me beforehand, Urahara-san," she called out dryly.

"But it's more fun this way!" she heard.

"For whom?" it was a dumb question, and she knew it.

"Me, of course."

"Tch," she snorted. How Kurosaki ever dealt with this guy was beyond her at this point. Touari recalled various instances when that guy was more short tempered and didn't even put up with Asano's antics. Of course that was all back when Touari first transferred and moved to Karakura Town. She supposed that Urahara meant well, but come on. It would be nice to not be toyed with. Touari reminded herself that she did technically sign up for this when taking his offer. She sighed heavily.

"Hey, lady!"

Touari grit her teeth and ignored the loud brat. She continued to stare down at the chain which was now shorter. It didn't deter him in any way.

"You should let us know if you get hungry!"

She still didn't acknowledge Jinta.

"When a soul gets hungry, it's a sign that they're becoming a hollow!"

_Damn him._

Technically that made sense to Touari, but she still didn't appreciate being reminded of the hollow thing, again. She wouldn't become a hollow. She would fight against it with everything she had.

"Seems you got the worst job, Tessai-san," she peered at the large man sitting quietly within the pit through her hair.

"Don't trouble yourself with such and do not worry about me. It's not all that bad. We lose all sense of time down here; it'll be over soon enough."

Tessai had a point. She had no idea what time it was, and even though she was very bored, it still went by fast. Ishida and Inoue stopped by to check on her and drop off Friday's work sometime after school. They stayed and chatted a little with her and then left. Sometime after, the second encroachment happened. That one was a bit strange, given the fact that it almost hurt. The odd sensation was stronger. She was relieved that hunger didn't set in by this point. Occasionally she talked to Tessai. Touari asked him questions about the means he bound her. She learned some things about kidou and was utterly fascinated. Though when she learned that it took a lot of his concentration to hold the kidou he used on her, she stopped asking him questions and let him be even though he didn't complain once. By the time the third and final encroachment began, she was suddenly a bundle of nerves.

"T-Tessai-san. What's going to happen exactly?" she had to grit her teeth against the strange pain and discomfort.

"I'm sorry but I'll have to restrain you further very soon. You'll be forced into the hollowfication process, but you're going to need to fight it. I don't think you'll be aware of anything going on by that point. You should be pulled into your inner world," Tessai explained. "Just stay calm, you'll be alright. I have faith in you, Touari-chan."

Touari managed to give the man a small smile. She returned her attention back to the rapidly shortening chain at her chest and used the time she had left to idly wonder what he meant by inner world. She would have asked about it, but she supposed that she would find out soon enough.

After the last link was consumed, a terrible feeling wracked though her body, forcing her to stiffen and arch her back sharply. Her head was thrown back, and her mouth agape in a silent scream. Touari would have screamed but she couldn't. Something was preventing her. Probably the viscous white stuff forcing its way out of her mouth. Before she blacked out, the last conscious thought was if she would ever see Ishida again.

Gods she hoped so.

* * *

A/N: Ended up ending this chapter at a different spot than I originally intended. I suppose it worked out for the better anyways. Please don't forget to review! Reviews keep me writing 3


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